ACT will not support plan on NEG in its current form

Shane Rattenbury, ACT Climate Change Minister has again stressed that the ACT government would not support the Federal Government’s National Energy Guarantee (NEG) Policy in its current form.

ACT still had a “lot of concerns” about NEG, the main one being that it would not deliver the energy policy that Australia needed in a carbon-constrained world. “It has been very clear that we cannot sign up to the deal in its current form,” Rattenbury said.

ACT wants from NEG:

More frequent reviews to assess emissions reductions against the Paris agreement

26% reduction target locked in as a permanent floor

An assurance on NEG for non-support on coal-fired power stations

Confirmation that states and territories can pursue their own targets that exceed the Commonwealth’s renewable energy targets to be an addition to the national target

“The current NEG proposal we do not believe will achieve this

“We are influencing all of because the stakeholders that we are better off without the NEG,” he continued.

We won’t let NSW freeload off the ACT: Barr

“State and territory renewable energy targets must be added to the national emissions reduction target, to prevent some states piggybacking off other’s efforts so Minister Andrew Barr said.

“It assumes all voluntary effort by state and territory governments that have already set more ambitious renewable energy and emission reduction targets will be subsumed into the national effort,” he said.

In effect, the ACT, Victoria, and Queensland will be doing all of the heavy liftings on national emissions reductions through our ambitious schemes. This will target ACT renewable energy by 2020 at 100%.

“We will not let our community’s leadership on renewables become an excuse for other parts of Australia doing less,”. Commonwealth agreed to a series of changes, it would go “a long way” towards securing the ACT’s agreement, Barr said.

The Canberra Liberals, on the other hand, but did not vote against the call for improvements, “The minister should get on with his job instead of grandstanding,” Opposition Leader Alistair Coe said.

“He should not need to move motions calling upon himself to do what he should have already been doing, and that is seeking a better deal for Canberra’s energy consumers,” he continued.

Every household, a business can benefit from a cleaner and cheaper power. Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg will attempt to persuade states and territories to sign up to the NEG by August 10 on the next COAG meeting. Let’s see what will happen next.

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